A largely extemporary presentation on the Internet of Things; I got into a theme on the first slide and more or less stayed for for the full 40 minutes so there is new material in here. I also argued, somewhat polemically against over structured approaches to complex issues, mentioning SAP, Sharepoint, Sick Stigma and SAFe along the way. So sensitive soles might want to avoid this on.
I want to develop some of this material over future presentation so expect more.

Thinking about the future is so hard and so important that any trick to get some traction is a boon. Adrian Hon’s trick is to particularize. What thing would manifest a whole future trend the way museum objects manifest important past trends?

Building on the pattern set by the British Museum’s great book, A History of the World in 100 Objects, Hon imagines 100 future objects that would illuminate transformative events in technology, politics, sports, justice, war, science, entertainment, religion, and exploration over the course of this century. The javelin that won victory for the last baseline human to compete successfully in the Paralympic Games for prosthetically enhanced athletes. The “Contrapuntal Hack” of 02031 that massively and consequentially altered computerized records so subtly that the changes were undetected. The empathy drug and targeted virus treatment that set off the Christian Consummation Movement.

Adrian Hon is author of the new book, A History of the Future in 100 Objects, and CEO and founder of Six to Start, creators of the hugely successful smartphone fitness game “Zombies, Run!” His background is in neuroscience at Oxford and Cambridge.

Planet New – the world of wonderfully innovative ideas that give rise to new products. There are many arguments about how to solve the world’s economic problems. But if there’s one solution that most will agree on it’s that we need more new products to drive capitalism and make us richer. Evan Davis and guests discuss the importance of innovation for the global economy and the impediments to this kind of creativity. They also swap thoughts on the ‘pivot’ – when to change your mind in business.

It begins to look as if we might have been wrong. All those predictions driving us forward throughout history have brought us finally to the unexpected realisation that the future is, suddenly, no longer what it used to be. Oops.

Toys are not idle knick-knacks: they allow us to explore otherwise impossible terrain; fire the imagination; provide sparks for structured play. They do not just entertain and delight; they stimulate and inspire. And always, they remind us of the value - and values - to be found in abstract play.